A woman who had just picked up coffee from an East Village Dunkin' Donuts was forced into a car by a man posing as a police officer. She managed to escape when police pulled over Richard Padilla's car - he had cut off their car at 119th Street and 2nd Avenue - yelling that he had raped her. Padilla had told the woman he had a gun and kept her captive in his car from 6AM - 8:30AM Monday morning as he drove to a number of spots to sexually assault her. While he was charged with kidnapping, committing a criminal sexual act, sexual abuse and criminal possession of marijuana, Padilla was also wearing a sweater that the letters "NYSP" - New York State Police. The lawyer for Padilla, who was convicted to sexual assault in 1987, said, "He hasn't been arrested for 19 years. He's entitled to some bail." - alas, he was not.
The East Village Dunkin' Donuts where Padilla grabbed the victim is at 2nd Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets - half a block from where the 2nd Avenue Deli used to be. One East Village resident told the Daily News, "I go to the gym after midnight. It felt really safe, but I guess you never know."
